AMHERST, MA. – Two goals from sophomore Maeve Reynolds helped the top-seeded Amherst College women's ice hockey team began postseason play with a win in the NESCAC Quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb 24. The Mammoths took down the Bowdoin Polar Bears at home, winning a close game 2-0.  

With the win, the Mammoths improve to 21-2-2 this season, while Bowdoin fell to 8-13-3. With the win, Amherst will advance to the NESCAC Semifinals, and as the highest remaining seed, will host the rest of the tournament at Orr Rink. They will face off against fourth-seeded Hamilton on Friday, March 1 at 4 p.m., with the winner advancing to the NESCAC Championship game at 4 p.m. the next day.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* Amherst's first dangerous offensive sequence occurred at the 9:03 mark. Reynolds skated in on goal, but saw her shot saved off the blocker of Bowdoin's goaltender, ricocheting back to the blue line. The Mammoths kept the puck in the zone, and where Ellie DeCarlo put a centering pass in front of the goalmouth but was just too far from the outreached stick of Natalie Fu.

* The Mammoths went on another rush with 5:42 to go in the first. Gretchen Dann played the puck off the boards onto the stick of Mary Thompson. The senior received the pass just behind the Bowdoin blue line and skated towards the right faceoff circle before attempting to center the puck to Reynolds, but her pass was just off the mark.
 
* Bowdoin pressured to end the first, notching two shots on goal in the final minute, but Natalie Stott was up to the task, saving both on the way to keeping all five shots she faced in the period out of the net; the teams entered the locker room tied at 0-0.

* Early in the second, Amherst found their offensive stride via 2-on-1s. Just seconds into the second period, Alyssa Xu found Rylee Glennon on the right side, but her shot was saved. Less than a minute later, Marie-Eve Marleau flew down the right side before splitting two defenders with a pinpoint pass to Reynolds. The sophomore fired a laser high-glove side for the opener to make it 1-0 Mammoths.
 
* At the 12:12 mark, Xu corralled the puck behind the Bowdoin net and found Jayna Park in the low slot, but the senior 's shot was saved. Just 20 seconds later, a Kelsey Stewart shot from the blue line that was initially saved, and the rebound was almost put in by Glennon, but some stellar play from the Polar Bears' netminder kept the puck out of the net. And despite pressure throughout rest of the second, the period ended 1-0 in favor of the Mammoths.
 
* The Polar Bears came out flying in the third, with Stott coming up big on a breakaway just 1:19 into the period. Bowdoin managed to maintain that pressure, playing an aggressive forecheck as they attempted to come back – the Amherst defense managed that pressure well, however, and the threat was temporarily ended by an Amherst power play opportunity at the 11:41 mark.
 
* The power play proved only a brief respite from the onslaught as the Polar Bears continued their physical play to save their season. However, the Mammoths were up to the task, using a forecheck of their own to hold their ground, backed up by stellar play from Stott that kept them in front.
 
* With the Polar Bears' net empty and just 1:28 to go, Reynolds got her second tally of the day by way of an empty net goal off heads-up pass from Thompson. The puck slid to Reynolds, who was alone in the slot, and she fired the puck home to ice a 2-0 win for Amherst.


 
BY THE NUMBERS:

* Reynolds continued her run of amazing form, scoring for the fifth straight game. Her two goals against Bowdoin were her eighth and ninth of the season.
 
* The Mammoths outshot the Polar Bears 62-54 in the contest, including leading 36-23 in shots on goal.

* Stott made a total of 23 saves in the contest on the way to earning her ninth shutout of the season.